A petition objecting to possible car parking charges at a much-loved Teesside spot has gathered hundreds of signatures.
Proposals to start charging for parking at Preston Park were mentioned in a Stockton Council finance report under work to “immediate savings which could be delivered quickly” in February. They proved controversial, with Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and Stockton South Conservative MP Matt Vickers calling for them to be scrapped.
The Labour-led council responded, saying the plan was under consideration because of rising costs and demand but the proposals were not in this year’s budget and no charges were proposed until 2025. A larger car park is part of “radical transformation” plans unveiled for the Preston Park Museum in June.
Most recently in a full council meeting in September, Cllr Clare Gamble said potential parking charges at Preston Park were being considered in a capital works programme to be complete in 2025. She added: “The council will explore a range of different charging options, including permits for frequent visitors.”
Now Councillor Jim Taylor, who represents Eaglescliffe East, said hundreds of people had signed a petition. He said: “The petition I’ve had running has got nearly 1,000 signatures now.
“There’s little parking there. If there’s an event on or it’s a big sunny day, parking is chaotic in Eaglescliffe East to start with. Once you get a mass of people in there they start migrating across into the housing estate.
“The concern that everybody has got is if they start charging, that situation will become even worse,” he added. He argues it would be “totally unacceptable” to nearby residents with parking capacity already “tight to say the least”.
He said: “The parking situation in my Eaglescliffe East Ward is dire already and barely adequate to accommodate the residents’ vehicles. This parking charge proposal will be a burden, not only for the local residents but for the whole of the Stockton region.”
The Conservative member said the petition was drawn up at the suggestion and encouragement of Stockton South MP Matt Vickers, but he wanted to get cross-party support: “It’s not a political thing. Everybody’s going to suffer from it.
“On that non-political basis we are inviting all of the surrounding ward councillors, regardless of political leanings, to join us in getting this poorly thought out proposal permanently removed from the SBC agenda. We’re here to represent the public and I believe it will be a disaster to start drawing car parking out of there.
“This is a very bad idea for all those using the park. The additional costs for using this public facility is something we can all do without.”
An extension to the car park will be part of a major development at Preston Park Museum and Grounds. Cllr Taylor said: “Car parking, along with the upgrading of the toilet, café facilities and children’s play area, are part of the council’s proposal, and should be separately prioritised and fast-tracked for public consultation, acceptance and approval.
“Part of the Preston Park upgrade is the proposal to increase the parking to the east of the present car park. This would more than double the current capacity and would be a very welcome improvement.
“This car parking proposal forms only a small part of the whole park upgrade and therefore may be some time in coming to total fruition. We would like to see the park’s redevelopments split into separate phases to enable the most urgent parts to be separately addressed, undertaken and not be delayed by the more controversial elements of the whole redevelopment.
“Undoubtedly there’s a shortage of parking and to their credit they’re going to increase the parking facilities to overcome that problem. That’ll help substantially but it still won’t cure it.
“The scheme that the council have put together is extremely good, but it’s all tied up together at the moment in one project. I think if they managed to split it up into smaller pieces it could be addressed.”
In response, Councillor Clare Gamble, the council’s cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “The potential introduction of car parking charges at Preston Park is being considered as part of the capital works programme which is due to be completed in 2025. The redevelopment work includes plans to increase overall car parking space by redesigning the main car park and extending the south car park.
“A scrutiny committee considered the issue of parking, comparing with other parks in the region where parking charges have been introduced. It found that introducing charges did not necessarily lead to displaced parking. Evidence from other parks suggested that as well as creating an income to the park, parking charge systems can help tackle anti-social behaviour too.”
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